Question:
-Do you know where I can find Christmas cards that have a religious message but that are also arty and contemporary looking? I love the tasteful designs at Tiny Prints, Paper Source, etc. but haven’t been able to find any that are religious. Any suggestions? — Renee
-Do you have any good resources for great looking, unique holiday photo cards? The options at Walmart/Snapfish/etc just aren’t cutting it. Thanks! — Megan
Answer:
The two questions above are just a sample of the dozens of emails I’ve been receiving along these lines. Apparently, everyone is looking for pretty holiday cards. And happily there are tons of great sources out there.
1) Have you visited Paper Culture yet? They offer a great contemporary selection. And get this, they will stuff, address and send your cards for the cost of postage. Nice.
2) How about Hello Lucky? Really fun designs and a really easy service to use.
3) Personally, I prefer sending a great looking folding card, and then slipping a loose photo inside. Yesterday, I received an unexpected care package from Cambria Cove (how did they know I was feeling so crummy?) and it included a box of these and these. Aren’t they great?
4) Here’s another one. If you are looking for a less-known, but still great source, try Legacy Digital Design. They offer designs available in Photoshop/PSE format for all those DIY types for a super low price of 1.99 per design. Just add your own text and photo(s) and you’re done.
5) Cardstore also has an extensive collection. I really like this one. And as with most of these online card stores, you can personalize the offerings with whatever message you prefer (here’s your chance to add that religious message, Renee).
And really, there are dozens more great options — I mean, I haven’t even delved into etsy yet, for goodness sake. : )
Dear Readers, where are you finding/printing your Holiday Cards this year?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite is from your suggestion a little while back – Handsome Devil Press. They're still SO stylish and fun!
I'm currently offering $2 custom christmas photo card designs. They send me their pictures I will edit them and design a card around them. They can have the file and print them anywhere they wish. I'm also having a contest and giving a design away at my site!
HTH
Hope it's okay to mention, but I make holiday photo cards. Lots of fun, affordable designs. I'm glad your readers are asking about holiday cards this early. What a great thing to check off your holiday list :)
http://www.blonde-designs.com
LOVE their work–they both used to work at Martha Stewart and have that clean, simple, modern look. They will do custom anything! So add your own religious message to something they create and it will be one-of-a-kind!
i love that your readers asked about holiday photo cards that are NOT wal-mart or snapfish! ;) we just blogged on of our designs. Here's the link http://revertblog.com/?p=2007 we love modern looking fun photo Christmas cards!!
Gimme Grace does fairly attractive, modern letterpress with religious messages:
http://www.gimmegrace.com/_catalog_43084/Cards
I love their Good God! card.
Not a source, but here's my two cents: We stopped sending Christmas cards three years ago and started sending out Valentine's cards. It seems to save us "one more thing to do" during the holidays, and friends seem to appreciate it more when they don't come with everyone else's cards. It also seems like a more appropriate time to send greetings to our loved ones, and removes the whole dilemma of "Can i send a Christmas card to my Jewish/Muslim/agnostic friend?"
Well, since few people mentioned it, I am making handmade Christmas cards as well and sell them on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33112480.
This is one from my collection.
Stamps are a great way to go. YOu can look for pre-made or custom design one for yourself. It is usually very inexpensive to order a custom stamp and it makes the cards themselves more cost-effective, too!
is shameless self-promotion allowed here?? :)
i have some fun, contemporary, modern templates available here:
http://www.freshlysqueezeddesigns.net/
and i'm giving away 50 5×7 custom holiday photo cards on monday here:
http://www.the-mortensen-family.blogspot.com/
i've found some really great designs at http://www.luxepaperie.com and http://www.redstamp.com.
especially the letterpress.
http://www.wimzieprints.com/
Bright, unique and religious themed holiday cards. They are also eco-friendly :)
Lots of great shops here! I agree that we need more options with modern designs. Here's my etsy shop:
http://fineprints.etsy.com
Minted.com has some awesome designs
http://www.somethingaboutstationery.com
I have found some really unique and fresh cards by Amy Vickery at somethingaboutstationery.com. There weren't a lot of religious cards, but the text is customizable or they will design custom cards if you desire. The cards are modern and fun – you should check them out!
Gabrielle – you recommended http://cocoblustudio.com/
a couple of years ago and I used her two years in a row. A joy to work with and our cards were fabulous! – kind of expensive – but if you feel like splurging they are worth it.
She customizes just about everything!
I have put together a great selection of free Christmas printable cards all you need to do download and print them. here is the link below
http://www.homelifeweekly.com/christmas/christmas-cards-designs/
Alex
HomeLifeWeekly.com